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Lithuania begins building barrier on border with Belarus to block migrants
Lithuania began building a barrier along its border with Belarus on Friday after accusing Belarusian authorities of flying in migrants from abroad to send illegally into the European Union. The first stretch of barrier will run 500 metres (1,640 feet) in length, measure 1.8 metres (six feet) in height and consist of concertina and razor wire, the army defence chief’s spokeswoman Ruta Montvile told Reuters. Belarus in May decided to allow migrants to enter EU member Lithuania in retaliation for sanctions imposed by the bloc after Minsk forced a Ryanair flight to land on its soil and arrested a dissident blogger who was on board. “If someone thinks we will close our border with Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Ukraine and will become a holding site for those running from Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq...
Troops kill 11 Boko Haram terrorists in Borno
The Nigerian Army has said its troops have killed 11 terrorists in separate operations in Borno State over the last three days. It said troops attached to the 82 Division Task Force Battalion, while on patrol in the Ngoshe-Ashigashiya area, neutralised five suspected Boko Haram members during a gun duel. The Director of Army Public Relations, Onyema Nwachukwu, said this in a statement titled, ‘Operation Hadin Kai: Troops on trail of terrorists recover arms and ammunition, truck of petroleum oil and lubricant’, dated July 4, in Abuja, on Monday. The statement read in part, “Troops of 82 Division Task Force Battalion on patrol along Ngoshe-Ashigashiya, about 12km from the unit’s location, have made contact with elements of Boko Haram terrorists at Daushe. “The troops, who fiercely engaged an...
Somali Army kills 24 al-Shabab militants
Somali National Army (SNA) said its forces killed 24 al-Shabab terrorists after a foiled terror attack on its military base in the southern town of Diinsoor on Saturday night. The SNA said in a statement on Sunday that al-Shabab terrorists tried thrice to launch an attack on the army base in Bay region but the troops successfully repulsed them and instead killed 24 terrorists. The army added that its forces recovered weapons used by the al-Shabab to kill and maim people during an operation which was conducted after the foiled terrorist attack. Diinsoor district, a strategic town, is approximately 100 km from Baidoa and is located on the border of Bay where the army has strong defensive units. Meanwhile, SNA says it has captured al-Shabab base in Orshe village about 50 km east of Dhusamareb...
Iran says nuclear talks policy won’t change after presidential vote
Iran’s policy in talks with world powers to revive the 2015 nuclear accord will remain unchanged after a June 18 presidential election because the issue is decided by its highest leadership, a government spokesman said on Tuesday. A host of barriers to the revival of the nuclear deal remain firmly in place ahead of talks due to resume this week, suggesting a return to compliance with the accord is still a way off, diplomats, Iranian officials and analysts said. “We have shown that we adhere to our international obligations under all circumstances, and this was a national decision,” cabinet spokesman Ali Rabiei told a weekly news conference. Rabiei said Iran’s nuclear policy, set by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is not linked to internal developments and that the new government wou...
Myanmar anti-coup fighters retreat from town as U.S. makes appeal
Fighters of a local militia opposed to Myanmar’s junta have pulled back from the northwestern town of Mindat after days of assault by combat troops backed by artillery, a member of the group said on Sunday. The United States and Britain called on the army to avoid civilian casualties and a shadow National Unity Government formed by loyalists of Myanmar’s detained elected leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, appealed for international help. A spokesman for the junta did not answer calls for comment. The fighting in the hill town of Mindat, about 100 km (60 miles) from the Indian border in Chin state, is some of the heaviest since the coup plunged Myanmar into chaos with daily protests, strikes and the emergence of new local militias. “To avoid confrontation, we retreated out of concern over damage to ...
Myanmar army battles anti-coup rebels as armed resistance grows
Myanmar’s army battled local militia fighters in the northwestern town of Mindat on Saturday, residents said, to try to quell a rebellion that has sprung up to oppose the junta which seized power in the Southeast Asian country in February. The fighting is some of the heaviest since the coup and underlines the growing chaos as the junta struggles to impose order in the face of daily protests, strikes and sabotage attacks after it overthrew elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi. “We are running for our lives,” one resident told Reuters from Mindat, a hill town just over 100 km (60 miles) from the border with India. “There are around 20,000 people trapped in town, most of them are kids, old people,” the resident added. “My friend’s three nieces were hit by shrapnel. They are not even teens.” The ju...
Sustaining economic empowerment through financial inclusion, energy access
Financial inclusion and provision of sustainable energy is at a turning point in Africa’s largest economy, Nigeria. With a population of over 200 million, about 50 per cent of the total population live in rural areas, and only 39 per cent of those living in rural communities have access to electricity. This is in addition to over 40 per cent of the entire population who are financially excluded or underserved. However, the proliferation of digital financial services in Nigeria – powered largely by growth in fin-tech companies – has catalysed an unparalleled increase in the current number of people with access to formal financial services, while further opening up opportunities to address power supply challenges across rural communities; a major feat instrumental towards achieving the broad...
US: Chad rebels heading towards capital from north
The United States said rebel fighters in Chad appeared to be moving towards the capital N’Djamena and ordered non-essential staff to leave, warning of possible violence. A spokesman for the rebel Front for Change and Concord in Chad (FACT) said its fighters had “liberated” the province of Kanem, some 220 km (136 miles) from the capital N’Djamena, but the government denied this. “The authors of these false statements are not even on the ground, but somewhere in Europe,” the government said in a message posted to Facebook. A day earlier the British government urged its citizens to leave Chad because of information that two rebel convoys on the move, one near the town of Faya, some 770 km (478 miles) northeast of N’Djamena, and another by the town of Mao, the provincial capital of Kanem. On S...
Rivers governor reacts as critics fault design of new bridge after truck accident
Critics are subjecting the Okoro-nu-Odu overhead bridge commissioned for use on Monday in Port Harcourt by Rivers Governor, Nyesom Wike, to scrutiny after the fall of a heavy duty truck that was trying to make a turn under it. Also, critics have also observed that rather than help alleviate the traffic gridlock in the area, the bridge seemed to have worsened the traffic jam. While commenting on the gridlock around the bridge and the fall of the truck while trying to make a u-turn, one Kachi Welsley said: “basically an engineering design is to address serviceability and human problems, not to compound them. “At the beginning sides of the overhead bridge at Rumuokoro, there ought to be turning points to enable cars coming and trying to get back in opposite directions turn easily without firs...
Dangote completes Nigeria’s longest concrete road
Makamba Online The Dangote Group has completed Nigeria’s longest rigid pavement located in Kogi State. It is the first of its kind, top engineers say. The 43KM Obajana-Kabba road constructed by Dangote Industries Limited (DIL), has been described by motorists as the country’s most strategic highway that is aiding travellers between the North and the South. Olatunbosun Kalejaiye, the Project Director, said he was excited that the Corporate Social Responsibility Project is being delivered for use by Nigerians, adding that while the rigid pavement has been completed, the company was dressing the shoulders. Site Engineer Samuel Obosi assured that the dual carriage way will be durable and less susceptible to potholes and repairs like asphalt road, adding that it would crash the rate of road acc...
FEC approves N117 billion for rehabilitation of major roads in Nigeria
The Federal Executive Council (FEC) on Wednesday approved N117.6 billion for the rehabilitation of some major roads across Nigeria. Wednesday’s FEC meeting was chaired by President Muhammadu Buhari. The Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, disclosed this while briefing journalists at the end of the meeting. “The Ministry of Works and Housing presented three memoranda, two relating to roads and one relating to a banking application. “The first set of roads is for a total sum of N18,923,846,198.47, and it is with respect to roads and bridges as follows; rehabilitation of 26 km road linking Kano, Jigawa and the Katsina States, N8.767 billion, Omo-Umulokpa road in Anambra and the Enugu States, N1.712 billion, rehabilitation of Oye-Oranta road in Anambra, N2.504 billion, Okpoko bri...
